Egg-tester.



Pafented Oc t. 3,4899, I

THOMASS. EGG TESTER.

(Application filed July 6, 1897.

(No Modal.)

NrrEo STATES ADOIlPH THOMASS, QF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

EGG-TESTER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 634,249, dated October 3, 1899. Application filed J'uly6,189'7. Serial No. 643,628. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ADoLPH THoMAss, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, haveinvented a new and useful Egg-Tester, of which the following is a specification.

Theobject of this invention is to provide an egg-tester which will be superior to those now in use and will enable the operator to infallibly determine with very great ease and rapidity the qualityof eggs. It is necessary in order to produce such results that the eyes of the operator should not be subjected to any light except to that of the illumination of the egg, and the egg should be subjected to as intense a light as possible, and by my invention I illuminate the egg throughout and enable the operator to discover the slightest imperfections.

I so construct the appliance that the operator can perform the work with the greatest ease and rapidity though working in the dark.

My invention is so constructed that the operator can hold the eggs below his eyes at such a height as will enable him to work with the greatest rapidity. It is not necessary or desirable for him to bring the eggs between his eyes and the source of light, the illumination of the egg being sufficient to show the interior clearly and means being provided to prevent the escape of light while the eggs are in place in the openings. v

Extreme simplicityis another object of my invention combined with superior convenience.

My invention comprises a box or case with a source of light therein and egg-testing openings in the vertical wall of the case, the mouths of openings which are slightly flaring and faced or lined with a soft material substantially flush with and extending around the openings over a part of; the face of the wall of the box, said openings preferably being placed in that wall of the case which is formed by the door through which access is gained to the interior of the box.- Said door may be a slide-door, (not shown,) or it may be hinged, (not shown,) or it may be in the form of a flanged-covering for the side, as shown in the accompanying drawings, and a reflector is arranged within the box on the opposite side from the openings, and the source of light is placed directly between the reflector and the egg-testing openings. The use of the reflector in this manner affords for thetwo test-openings a very strong light, the source of light being preferably placed midway between the extended axes of said openings, so that the direct light and also the reflected light pass unobstructed to said openings. The plane reflector shown in the drawings is preferred; but it is to be understood that a reflector of several planes or of a concave form could be used, if desired, without departing from the spirit of my invention. Such forms of reflectors are well known,and illustration thereof is not necessary herein.

This invention is more specially designed to enable the'work of testing eggs to be readily performed in the daytime and is intended to be used in a dark room.

I regard my invention as including an eggtester comprisinga source of light by any suitable means of artificial illumination and a case inclosing such light source and preventing the emission of light therefrom except at one or more egg seating and testing openings with which the upright wall of the case is provided. In the accompanying drawings I have shown a kerosene-lamp as such means of illumination. It is ordinarily most convenient to use a kerosene-lamp or some other source of light which requires air for combustion and which I also emits aconsiderable amount of heat, and one object of my invention is to avoid excessive heating of the lamp and also to provide the lamp with sufficient draft and yet prevent the light from escaping except at the egg-testing openings.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention ready for operation. Fig. 2 is a vertical mid-sectionon line 2 2, Fig. l.

Aindicates a case provided with a lampchamber a, with a light-intercepting cowl I3 and an air-inlet O, with walls arranged to prevent the emission of light from the case. Two egg-testing openings 1 2 are provided in the upright wall of the case. This wall is preferably movable to serve as a door.

door extends from the bottom of the floor to the top of the case, so that the air-passage The below the floor is free from front to the back wall of the case.

D indicates a lamp in the case.

ct indicates the lamp-chamber, and a the floor of such chamber. The air-inlet C extends below the floor from front to rear of the case and up past the floor into the lampchamber.

E indicates a reflector at the rear side of the lamp-chamber opposite the egg-testing openings, and the floor extends from the front part way across the ease, with an open space 3 between the edge of the floor and the reflector-wall. The air-passage is between the floor and the bottom ct of the case, and the walls of the passage are blackened, thus to prevent any escape of light from the lampchamber by reflection through the air-passage.

F indicates a cushion or facing made of black cloth, leather, or other soft substance, against which the egg can be pressed and into which the egg will seat, so as to prevent the escape of any light around the egg between it and the walls of the opening. The cushioned flaring mouths of the openings in a vertical wall allow the operator to work with great rapidity without any danger of cracking the eggs, and the eggs seat in such mouths deep enough to prevent any escape of light around the egg. The upright face of the wall or door G serves as a guide for placing the egg. The light from the lamp or other light source reaches the inner orifice of the openings from all directions unobstructedly and is of as great volume as possible with so simple means.

By providing, as shown in the drawings, a case one of the Vertical walls of which has a smooth flat plain exterior face perforated with two egg-seating light-emitting holes, the axes of which are substantially parallel with each other and with the light-rays, the facility and accuracy of operation are increased over former constructions, there beingnoimpediment whatever to the hands of the operator and the eggs being immediately and readily brought into the most effective position for the necessary illumination.

In practice the case is an ordinary box closed at the rear, bottom, and two sides and having a hole a in the top, into which. the cowl is fitted, and provided at its front side with a door, in which the egg-testing openings are made. This dooris preferably a flanged cover G, which can be set against the open side of the case, with three flanges g g g lapping over the case at the top and two sides. This door does not extend to the bottom of the case, but only to the bottom of the floor upon which the lamp sits. The under side of the fioor and the inside of the ease beneath the floor are black ened thus to prevent the escape by reflection of any light from the lamp-chamber. The cowl which I use is formed of a thimble 5, of sheet metal,surmounted by a hood 6, which is fastened to the top of the thimble and extends down outside far enough below the top of the thimble to prevent the escape of any light, and the under side of the hood is blackened to prevent reflection.

In practical operation the lamp is lighted and placed upon the floor and. the door is closed. The air passes in at the air-passage below the floor and up between the lamp and the reflector, thus tending to keep the reflector cool and also preventing overheating of the lamp and supplying the oxygen necessary for combustion. The air-passage beneath the floor, through the chamber, and through the cowl is ample for a much greater passage of air than is necessary to supply combustion, and this avoids excessive heating of the lamp chamber. Otherwise there might be danger of an explosion, and the reflector, if made of quicksilvered glass mirror, which is preferable, would be liable to become injured by the great heat. The operator takes the eggs two at a time, one in each hand, in case there are two openings, as shown, and places one egg over each opening, pressing it into the cushion formed by the facing F, of leather, felt, or other soft material, so that no light escapes, but the eggs are perfectly illuminated. The illumination which is thus obtained will enable the operator, whose eyes are by this appliance entirely protected from any light excepting that which illuminates the egg, to detect the slightest imperfection in the egg, so that even cold-storage eggs, which are ordinarily beyond detection, can be readily detected, and imperfection from any causesuch as non-fertilization of the egg, staleness, sun-heat, or broken yolk-can be readily detected.

In practical operation the vertical wall forms a perfect guide for the egg, being in such position that the hand of the operator can move in an upward course from a receptacle containing untested eggs to the egg seating and testing opening and from thence to a receptacle for the tested eggs and will be readily guided to the egg-seating openings by the vertical wall in which the openings are made. The operator stands or sits in front of the tester with the egg-receptacles below the test' ing-openings, and the eye of the operator is held considerably above the openings, the op eration being not so much to look at the light throngh'the egg, but rather to illuminate the egg, so that the entire contents of the egg can be seen. The operator will revolve the egg half-way, so as to bring both the upper and lower halves of the egg to his View. lVhcn this is done, the testing is complete.

Now, having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An egg-tester consisting of an upright case forming a light-containing chamber and a reflector at the back of said chamber, the front side of said case being open and a supplement-ary floor for the chamber with blackened air-passage beneath the floor communicating with the light-chamber at the rear thereof; a substantially upright door to close the open front of the case from the supplementary floor to the top of the case, and provided with one or two cushioned light-emitting egg-seating openings; a lamp inside the case to direct light through the openings; and a light-intercepting cowl for the top of the case, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of acase havingalampchamber with reflector at rear side thereof and one or more egg-testing openings in a Vertical Wall of the case opposite the reflector; a floor extending from such Wall part Way across ADOLPH THOMASS.

\Yitnesses:

JAMES R. TOWNSEND, ALFRED I. TOWNSEND. 

